Considering that osmotic conditioning and gibberellic acid application can benefit germination and seed vigor, the objective of this study was to verify the effect of the association of osmotic conditioning with giberellic aid on the physiological quality of sweet pepper seeds at different maturation stages. The fruits were produced in a protected environment using the Magnata Super and Konan R hybrids, harvested at four maturation stages, based on the fruit coloration: completely green fruits (stage 1), fruits with 20 to 30% of red coloration (stage 2), fruits with 40 to 50% of red coloration (stage 3) and completely red fruits (stage 4). The seeds were conditioned in KNO3 solution containing gibberellic acid at the following concentrations: 0, 50, 100, 200 and 400μM. The parameters used to evaluate the treatments were: germination, emergence, speed emergence index, electrical conductivity tests and analyzes of the enzymes malate dehydrogenase, alcohol dehydrogenase, catalase and heat resistent protein. The osmotic conditioning and use of giberelic acid did not result in a meaningful increase in the germination of the sweet pepper seeds of the hybrids studied. However, it increased the emergence speed, principally in seeds harvest at stages 3 and 4. A negative effect of the osmotic conditioning in seeds harvested at stage 1 was also observed in both hybrids. The conclusion was that the association of the treatments affected positively the vigor of sweet pepper seeds and the best results were observed in seeds harvested from the fruits at the start of maturation, with 20 to 50% red coloration.
vegetable; priming; plant growth regulator
